PATH is a community-based, owned and grassroots organization, founded and led by members of the target community of residents of the DMV area of recent African ancestry (i.e., the community of recent African immigrants), who are also diaspora citizens of the Republic of Sierra Leone. Founded on the principle of optimizing access to and utilization of social, public health, and healthcare services by otherwise marginalized and/or poorer residents and citizens, the organization is an alliance of entities (groups and individuals) with a similar drive and purpose, and a history of providing related services to members of the target or other communities in the U.S. and Sierra Leone. Long before registering as a 501c3 (non-profit/NGO) organization, the director of PATH helped organize multiple service projects and programs, including the pooling of community resources to provide food, shelter, and supplies (e.g., school supplies). We have organized annual and biannual events to raise awareness, provide information and education, materials, promotional items, etc., to residents about the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, Mental health, chronic diseases, and their precursors of poor diet and obesity, etc. We have and continue to work with various organizations and clubs, including faith, gender, age, country of origin, and other descriptor-based, to collaboratively identify, target, and work to address issues such as domestic, sexual, and physical violence/abuse, food insecurity, poor access to and utilization of social and health services, etc. As the name suggests, the membership comprises at least 10 organizations, including country of origin based, faith-based, mission-based, etc. We also have partnerships with the three health departments (Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia) that have jurisdiction over our catchment or target area in the U.S., as well as their receptive and collective public health and HIV planning bodies. At the core of our extensive partnership and network is also a cadre of healthcare facilities and homes, including nursing, assisted living facilities and homes, community health centers, community-based organizations, hospitals, etc. We have a solid tradition of working with these entities to recruit, train, place, and support certified nursing assistants, general nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, community health workers, and other allied health support workers.

Our goal is to conduct business and healthcare, public health, and social services in Sierra Leone, starting in the Mile 91 area, where the CEO and president of PATH owns over 30 acres of arable land. As per our business strategy overview below (tables 1 and 2 and figure 1), we plan to develop the land for both agricultural and commercial retail and wholesale purposes (green shaded cells), and mental and general healthcare and public health service provision and brokerage (tan shaded cells).

PATH’s Vision: Healthier and thriving Communities in part resulting from PATH’s actions and activities!

PATH’s Mission: promote and enhance the respective and collective physical, psychosocial, mental, and economic health and well-being of target communities among African-born residents in the DMV area, and citizens and residents of Sierra Leone and other Subsaharan countries!

Table 1. As an organization and individuals, we are committed to these and related core values:

VALUE	DESCRIPTION
Innovation	We are committed to our approach to business decisions and sections that are innovative and rooted in evidence of effectiveness, efficiency, ethics, legality, and common sense.
Resilience	PATH is committed to adjusting to disruptions of any kind while maintaining continuous business operations and safeguarding our people (staff, stakeholders, and customers), assets, and overall brand quality speedily, realistically, effectively, and efficiently.
Adaptability	PATH’s approach to business and general operations is rooted in malleability, compliance, collaboration, symbiosis, and reciprocity!
Sustainability	We are guided and motivated by the belief and desire to not only plant seeds, but to nurture them to grow and flourish for future generations of our target communities and populations!
TENET	DESCRIPTION
Care and Compassion	PATH is guided by the belief, principle, and commitment to providing services and goods/products with care and compassion for the communities and populations we target and serve.
Resourcefulness and Results	PATH realizes that resources are the backbone of any and all business ventures, thus we are committed to maximizing both inputs and outputs, ensuring that we are results-oriented, process-minded, and people-focused at all times!
Service and Support	Our primary aim as an organization is to provide, facilitate/broker, and ensure quality and affordable services and products, and support to our target geographical areas and communities, and populations, at all times!
Quality and Excellence	The pursuit of excellence is a guiding principle for PATH, which is earmarked and predisposed on continuous assurance of quality in processes, outputs, and outcomes . . . Always!

Figure 1. Overview of Business Strategy

Table 2. Summary of Business Plan

Strategies	Target population and Geography	Goal	Objectives	Rationale (and Theoretical Foundation at bottom row)
1. Provide retail and wholesale services of goods, groceries, etc.	Sub-Saharan Africa, beginning in Sierra Leone, WA (Mile 91)	Provide and/or increase affordable access to quality essential goods and supplies to all residents.	Obtain necessary credentials and license for the import and export of goods Establish storage, packaging, and dissemination facilities in strategic locationsin Sierra Leone, with HQ at Mile 91. Obtain seed or start-up resources ($$) for the purchase and transport of goods to SL. Purchase and export goods to SL Package and sell goods in SL Recycle revenue to scale up operations Source and export locally produced goods other WA countries and beyond. Partner with US-based suppliers, such as Walmart, etc.	Need and demand for quality essential goods far outweigh supply in Sierra Leone, and labor is readily available at relatively lower costs. Existing large availability of land for utilization at Mile 91 (25+ acres) Highly motivated, ready, and willing proprietors in Ishmael Koroma (landowner) and other partners
2. Provide agricultural and farming services	Sub-Saharan Africa, beginning in Sierra Leone, WA (Mile 91)	Increase the supply of agricultural products, especially food, to the local population. Contribute to and stimulate the local economy. Achieve scale and improve profitability.	Obtain necessary credentials and license for the import of necessary machinery/equipment, seeds, fertilizer, and other necessary supplies. Establish storage, packaging, and dissemination facilities in strategic locations in Sierra Leone, with HQ at Mile 91. Obtain seed or start-up resources ($$) for the purchase and transport of equipment and related supplies to SL. Purchase and export equipment and supplies to SL Prepare and farmland at Mile 91 (and beyond) Recycle revenue to scale up operations Source and export locally produced produce and products to other WA countries and beyond. Partner with US-based suppliers, such as Walmart, etc.	Current and traditional dependency on imported agricultural goods and products, including and especially food items, is neither enough nor sustainable, resulting in a mal-fed and malnourished community. Locally produced foods are still subsistence and not able to meet demands. Mechanization elsewhere in the world has led to food sufficiency and reduced or eliminated food insecurity.
3. Provide Community Mental Health Services	DMV area, starting with VA African-born residents and communities; African Americans; all residents in need of such services Sub-Saharan Africa, beginning in Sierra Leone, WA: All citizens and residents in need of such service	Address and cater to the mental/psychiatric health needs of target communities and individuals, focusing on disenfranchised and neglected subgroups (health disparities and social inequities rooted in unfavorable social determinants of health)	Establish service provision modalities (license and registration) Recruit and train service providers Recruit and train support staff Establish referral source database Recruit patients/clients Provide services virtually and in-person	Africans, African Americans and other race/ethnic minority populations, and communities, are continually disproportionately impacted by lack mental health service opportunities and resources, yet they are disproportionately impacted by mental health needs.
4. Provide healthcare & public health services: Preventive Diagnostic Therapeutic Other			Establish service provision centers Establish referral source database Recruit patients/clients Provide services virtually and in-person
5. Provide nursing and allied health training and educational services	Washington, DC, VA, and Maryland (DMV) Sierra Leone	Contribute to the cadre of qualified nursing and allied health professionals in the target areas.	Obtain facility(s) for school(s) Obtain local/national licenses Recruit/[re]train tutors Recruit, train, and place students The need for nursing and allied health professionals is and continues to outweigh supply.	The need for nursing and allied health professionals is and continues to outweigh supply.

Theoretical Fee:

• The Health Belief model: people are more likely to do something (act) about their health if and when they believe doing so is beneficial to them in terms of removing or minimizing the harmful effects of inaction or wrong action, given certain conditions (https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/sb/behavioralchangetheories/behavioralchangetheories2.html)
• The Social Learning/Cognitive Theory, which (“. . . emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Social learning theory considers how both environmental and cognitive factors interact to influence human learning and behavior. . . (https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html)
• Timeliness and appropriates of Risk Mediation Interventions (the earlier the better): Primordial, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary (https://www.ump.edu.pl/files/8_483_epidemiology_and_prevention.pdf)